Heucheras and Friends: Mukdenias (Heuchera Cousins)

I purchased this Mukdenia, a Terra Nova introduction of a Heuchera cousin (see Terra Nova image below) last summer and am looking forward to enjoying it this season. Believe it or not, these are hardy to zone 4. I just noticed on the web, a new Mukdenia variety that looks even more stunning. Here is the link: http://www.cnb.nl/greenteam/newplants/cultivars/np303.htm. Is anyone else growing Mukdenias along side their Heucheras?

Ironically, on the $1 clearance rack at our local nursery. The employees said it wouldn't grow in our zone (5b). I guess they had been telling everyone that so nobody wanted to spend the $12 for an annual. For some reason the zone wasn't listed on the Terra Nova tag. I'm sure that would have helped sales.

Hey, I tried doing some division early this summer, and had pretty good success. Any one interested in trading Mukdenia 'Crimson Fans' aka 'Karasuba' for named Hostas, Heucheras or other tidy foliage plants hardy to Z5 let me know. The starts are small (probably what you would get in a 3-4" pot), but they are well-rooted and healthy.

Note: I've read in several places that 'Crimson Fans' & 'Karasuba' are the same variety, they just have different names for their respective languages.

One source has it that the difference between Mukdenia 'Crimson Fans'
and Mukdenia 'Crimson Fans' (Karasuba) is that the Karasuba cultivar
colors up after flowering until fall. The species doesn't color up until
fall. So I guess it depends on how bad you want to see the red color-
ing = $$$

If you live here in Spokane (I'm in the Valley not far from the Argonne exit), you would be welcome to stop by and I can give you a start, ...or maybe we could do a trade. Dmail me if you are interested.

Hey, willmetge, you promised to get back to me on DMail. Still going to be in Spokane about 15 September (and also, just blocks from the Argonne exit (altho we use Broadway coming from the west) and I'd still like to do a trade.

I didnt' realize you'd be here for that long of a period. I'm sure we could get together. My kids are going to be visiting us for a month mid August to mid Sept and then we are going to try and take a week for fall color some time after that. But if you are here for that long, let's try and get together. I've never met anyone from DG before.

Sure. I'm planning to do a couple of divisions with this cooler weather we've been having...so this fall they should be pretty established and ready for transplanting...just let me know when you are ready.

I just picked up a Mukdenia Karasuba at a local greenhouse. Dont think it is reliably hardy here but would like to try as I have lots of shade and it looks like a gorgeous plant. Would be interested to know if anybody in zone 4 is growing it since that is the closest to my zone. Guess I will have to gve it some winter protection .

Now that it's spring again, have several that have participated in this thread had the Mukdenia Karasuba over winter? If so, did it survive in good shape? I'm in zone 6a and couldn't find it locally last summer. Hopefully, that's simply because it's a fairly recent introduction in the last couple of years.

I'm on my third year (zone 5) and the clump is larger than ever. Right now it is still almost completely dormant. I can see some very small reddish tips. I should note that it emerges pretty late compared to my other perennials...in fact, it is usually one of the last. I think that TerraNova Nurseries lists it as hardy to zone 3 or 4 so it should do well in zone 6.

I'm zone 5. I only marked three of the ones I planted and they are emerging. In two areas close by, I have these lovely burgendy leaves emerging and they are bigger than the tiny plants that I tagged so I'm not sure what is what. One of them has done nothing at all and I actually moved it out of the area it was in. All I got was a bulb, not a plant as promised. They are expensive and hard to find. I got mine online last fall.

Im not absolutely certain because I put it in last summer so Ive never seen it come up before but - I think this is my Mukdenia. Its in the right place but this was a newly refurbished area last summer and - sigh - I cannot entirely remember what I planted there! Markers would help wouldnt they!

My Mukdenias are up and at 'em.
I have tried to get Mukdenia established over the years and it's been difficult.
I presume I've planted 8-10 plants over past 5 years and all I have to show for it now is 4 plants.
One looks really good, the others are smaller but look promising.
2 of the small ones are Karasuba.
I had heard Mukdenia doesn't do well in areas of high humidity,
so I'm pleased to have some survivors.
I'd be more pleased, of course, if they looked happy.
Anyone out there w/ Mukdenia success stories in humid summer areas?

Well, those burgendy leaves I saw were the ligularias I planted last year and forgot about. I do now have five out of six of the Mukdemias that I planted coming up. They each have one leaf on them. The six and final one I found the bulb and it had a little green bud on it but it was upside down so I replanted it and am watching it. I know I need to move them as they are in too much competition with creeping Jenny. How much sun can they take? Anyone here know?

I was able to obtain a half- flat of these (36 plants)!...I don't need them all. Email me at willmetge@yahoo.com (I don't check my D-mail very often) if you are interested. My cost was $3.90 ea (can you believe it!)...I would much appreciate voluntary compensation for my costs plus shipping, but per DG rules this is not necessary.

Hi everyone,
I just discovered this thread & was intrigued by the Mukdenia in the first photo.

If anyone is still watching this thread & still interested in the Mukdenia, I found a couple of sources that, apparently, still have them available (both are listed in Garden Watchdog with good reviews).

nuts, I'm also glad I discovered this thread, even though I'm more than a year late! I've been stopping by one of my favorite local nurseries (Telly's in Troy) to watch the planted get marked down. On my way to the hostas, I keep seeing this "Mudkenia" thing and wondering why I've never heard of it. They looked interesting but unknown (scary, LOL). Anyway, now I can hope they get a price reduction soon =)

Weerobin I live in a very humid area and mine are fine this is the first year for them to come out of their pots I got them last spring a year ago and over wintered them in pots. I still have one in a pot not sure where I want to plant it yet I have it in morning sun until about 1:00 and the others are in morning sun till about 11:00 then dappled the rest of the day till late afternoon all look really healthy I plan on planting the one in the pot this fall or maybe sooner if the weather still holds it's cooled off a bit here and they said the humidity wouldn't be so bad the rest of the summer not a for sure thang just a prediction lol

We had humidity that you could cut with a knife from spring till about the end of July this year usually it's until the end of Aug. at least.

They aren't crowded though I have about two foot space in between them I planted mine with astilbes and Heucheras but the Mukdenias are about a foot from lady ferns and a bradford fern so I know they probably don't get much air unless the wind is blowing pretty good it didn't happen much until here lately, we had very calm, high humidity days.

I say 'them' I only have three lol There just wasn't much out there about growing conditions that I was afraid to get anymore these were trial plants. I'm still wondering how they are going to multiply if it be fast or slow, I left them plenty of room just incase. I'll let everyone know when they come up in the spring how they do I still need to get out there and label a lot of thangs just hope I get it done so I'm not hunting them down lol

The bed I have them in stays nice and moist most of the time but the ground did crack when we were having a drought so I did keep them watered I really want to see the leaves on them this fall!

Can't believe this thread is still going but that's nice so we can keep up with them and their progress :)

I planted mine 3 years ago, its slow growing. Its beautiful when flowering but it never got the multi color hues I saw in pictures, its goes a dirty looking greenish yellow beurkkkkk...maybe something in my soil????

Well I'm looking forward to them turning red this fall I just hope they do...I think I have them where they will we shall see I'll let everyone know :)

I've never done a soil test coach but think my soil is mostly akaline or it was I've been amending it for years with compost but it was that blaw yellow clay there to begin with. I always plant with compost too plenty of it then top it off with compost.

Well my Mukdenias just barely turned red last fall surely they are getting enough sun would that matter they get morning sun until about 11 then dappled sun after that I was kind of disappointed I must say.

This year we had a warm winter so not sure when they came up just noticed them about a month ago and they were about 3" high. Now they are all out and looking beautiful I love the leaves on them they are about 3" around and have spread about 3" this year so I was pleased :) They were potted up for a year from plugs, next year put in the ground so this is their third year. The blooms to the flowers were even bigger this year and looked really nice next to the foliage.

I still have one in a pot and the way the weather has been I think that one is confused it's in more sun (unprotected) and really pretty but we just had a freeze a couple of nights ago and guess what? The leaves turned red LOL Yes they did :) The ones in the ground in more shade (under Holly tree so protected) didn't or maybe it was the frost we had this week too our weather is really crazy here this year 80 one day and 40 the next the temps just keep going up and down. My shade garden is beautiful right now though none of the plants seem to mind the cold temps. except for a few ferns that I didn't know to cover from the frost. I soo wish I had a camera :(

coach, I collect leaves from all the neighbor's too can't believe they go out and buy compost and burn their leaves or take them to the landfill such a waste! Can't put leaves on flower beds though vole problems I've lost a couple of hostas to them.